Yes, aside from Expo (which I have slowly been removing) I don't use dual rates or mixing

But to each his own.

Just depends on flying style. 3d rates are going to be a lot higher than precision on the elev and rudder. If you have a dual purpose plane then dual rates are almost mandatory. On my 3d plane, only need one rate. On my IMAC plane, I have 3 flight conditions: 1 for general flight, 2 for rollers (less aileron and more rudder and elevator), and 3 for landing (more elevator and rudder and idle down).
To me, mixing is just for fine tuning out bad tendencies. Back in the day, we had to make physical adjustments to the plane to overcome bad flight characteristics.

Nope, it would be a blast though. However, I have flown an F-14 and an F-117 on separate occasions in actual military full motion simulators but that's as close as I've come to full scale aerobatics.

It is!! I flew the IAC sportsman sequence in an Extra 300 and it was amazing. The stick has no centering and the ailerons are as light as you can imagine. The mixing just comes natural when you are in the plane because of your perspective and feel.

Gyros are stabilization enhancers. Most "drones" aka quad copters have a minimum of three gyros that control pitch, yaw, and roll. They make flying highly unstable platforms easier by doing most of the work. Some even have self-leveling. But, there is a certain demographic that likes to use them in fixed wing platforms, like our airplanes. Some are too...infirm to operate aircraft themselves. Some have sight issues, orientation issues, or general lack of ability. For competitive people use of a gyro is akin to cheating on a test. Similar to traction control or antilock brakes in a car. Great for people that lack the subtleties of precision driving. While it does help overall performance it coddles to those who lack natural ability. Driving a computer shaped like a car is not the same as driving a Ferrari F-40.

My comments are generalizations and not definitive arguments. The comparison between cars and aircraft is somewhat strained. A good pilot can do anything in an airplane a gyro does. Traction control in a car does what the driver cannot such as putting power to whatever tire has traction, or to whatever wheels are pressed hardest into the road.